It’s the season of the orange. I walk into stores, and I’m surrounded by beautiful looking clementines, tangerines, and more. I’m seeing commercials for not just Cuties but now Halos, too. And the wee ones adore them all. They will easily eat two or three of them a day in lunch and snack, which means there’s a ton of peel that goes to waste. Or used to go to waste – I’ve found the perfect use for all those peels!
Yes, I turned what was otherwise “garbage” (or compost for those of you who are greener than I) into a yummy treat that the wee ones absolutely adored. This is something that I’ve seen in some of the Mexican bakeries near me and especially in El Paso, so why not make it at home? It’s surprisingly easy to do, even for someone like me who doesn’t – yet – excel at candy making.
To make them even more yummy, I dipped some of them in melted dark chocolate and shook off the excess to make chocolate covered candied tangerine peels. Yum. I have to say, the chocolate dipped peels were amazing, but even without that, the candied orange peels were so much better than I’d ever expected they’d turn out.
These were so tasty that I’m considering adding them to my sweets baskets for some of the wee ones’ teachers this year. What a fun teacher gift, no? I’m definitely making more of these for Christmas, too, just to serve on the side at the table for people to gnosh. After all, I have to do something with the orange peels the wee ones are bringing home for me every day.
I made my candied orange peels with maybe 9 or 10 tangerines that the wee ones had eaten. I simply placed them in a storage container in my fridge while the wee ones collected them throughout the week. That said, it might be easier to cut the peel off the orange and send the oranges pre-peeled with the wee ones rather than having them bring home peels and cutting them later. The wee ones, however, like to peel their own oranges, and who am I to deprive them of their joy?
Candied Orange Peels
Ingredients:
8 orange peels – oranges, clementines, tangerines, etc
3 c water
3 c sugar, divided
2 T salt
Directions:
Either cut the peel directly off your orange or peel your oranges and slice them into about 1/2 inch slices and as long as you can. The short ones still work, but really, those are probably ones you’ll end up eating yourself, right?
Place the slices into a heavy saucepan. Cover with 1 1/2 cups of the water and add the salt. Bring to a boil and boil for two minutes. This helps to remove the bitterness that you have from the pith of the orange (the white part on the inside of the peel). Remove from the heat after two minutes and rinse your peels thoroughly to remove any trace of the salt, washing out your pot at the same time.
Set the peels aside for a moment and add the last 1 1/2 cups of water and 2 1/2 cups of sugar to the pot. Bring to a boil, then add the orange peels and turn down to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for a half hour, until the peels look thinner and almost a little translucent on the white side of the peel. If your peels still look the same, simmer them a little longer.
Drain the peels and place them on a sheet of parchment paper, but save the syrup that you made. Again, if you’re recycling the peels, let’s recycle everything we can. The orange syrup is perfect to add to club soda or to brush over a cake to give it added moisture and flavor without overpowering it. You can keep it in your fridge in a sealed container for two or three weeks.
Sprinkle the peels with additional sugar and use tongs to toss them to avoid getting your hands quite as sticky. Add more sugar as needed until the peels are thoroughly coated on all sides.
Using the tongs, pick up the peels and place them gently on a wire cooling rack without touching so that they can dry. Drying will take 2-4 hours generally, though longer if it’s humid outside. Once they have dried completely, place them in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Serve as candy, place as decorations in cakes and other baked goods, or dip them in chocolate for another fun treat.
Note: The recipe as written calls for 8 or so orange peels. You can use an citrus fruit, and the recipe is very forgiving to increase or decrease the amount of peels you make. Simply ensure that you have just enough water to cover your peels and almost but not quite twice the sugar in the pot as water, and you’re good to go.

Candied Orange Peels
Ingredients
- 8 orange peels
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups sugar divided
- 2 tablespoons salt
Instructions
- Either cut the peel directly off your orange or peel your oranges and slice them into about 1/2 inch slices as long as you can. The short ones still work, but it's easier to work with the longer slices.
- Place the slices into a heavy saucepan. Cover with 1 1/2 cups of the water and add the salt. Bring to a boil and boil for two minutes. This helps to remove the bitterness that you have from the pith of the orange (the white part on the inside of the peel). Remove from the heat after two minutes and rinse your peels thoroughly to remove any trace of the salt, washing out your pot at the same time.8 orange peels, 3 cups water, 2 tablespoons salt
- Set the peels aside for a moment and add the last 1 1/2 cups of water and 2 1/2 cups of sugar to the pot. Bring to a boil, then add the orange peels and turn down to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for a half hour, until the peels look thinner and almost a little translucent on the white side of the peel. If your peels still look the same, simmer them a little longer.3 cups sugar
- Drain the peels and place them on a sheet of parchment paper.
- Sprinkle the peels with additional sugar and use tongs to toss them to avoid getting your hands quite as sticky. Add more sugar as needed until the peels are thoroughly coated on all sides.
- Using the tongs, pick up the peels and place them gently on a wire cooling rack without touching so that they can dry. Drying will take 2-4 hours generally, though longer if it's humid outside. Once they have dried completely, place them in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- These work well by themselves, or you can dip them in chocolate for an extra special treat. Serve as candy, place as decorations in cakes and other baked goods, or any other fun way you choose. This recipe is very forgiving to go up or down in quantity of peels you make. Just make sure you cover your peels with water (barely) and add almost but not quite twice as much sugar as water to the boiling stage.
- Save the orange syrup you made when simmering the peels. It is perfect to add to club soda or to brush over a cake to give it added moisture and flavor without overpowering it. You can keep it in your fridge in a sealed container for two or three weeks.
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.
Wow these look awesome!!